PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK: Lions officially hire Patricia as head coach

Confirming the NFL’s worst-kept secret, the Detroit Lions make the hiring of Matt Patricia official. Patricia spent 14 seasons with the Patriots, the last six as their defensive coordinator.

Glen Farley The Enterprise @GFarley_ent

FOXBORO – When he stepped off the team’s flight the day after its historic 34-28 overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI, Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia wore a clown T-shirt bearing the likeness of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Given the circumstances, perhaps he should have donned a T-shirt bearing the likeness of Roary, the Detroit Lions team mascot, when he left Minneapolis on Monday.

Confirming the NFL’s worst-kept secret, the Lions announced on Monday afternoon that they had hired Patricia as their new head coach, even as the Patriots flew home following Sunday night’s 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII.

“When we launched the search for our next head coach, I wanted to find a leader that could take us to the next level and I am confident we have found that in Matt Patricia,” Lions executive vice president and general manager Bob Quinn said in a release announcing Patricia’s hiring. “He has been preparing for this opportunity his entire career, and he’s ready for the responsibility and its challenges.

“Matt is driven to succeed, has extreme passion for the game and excels in preparation. He embodies the same hard-working, blue-collar attributes that represent our organization and the great City of Detroit.”

Quinn got an up-close look at Patricia in New England, having spent 16 seasons with the Patriots, including 2012-2015 as their director of pro scouting.

Patricia arrives in Detroit after having spent the past 14 seasons with the Patriots, the last six as defensive coordinator after having served as a coaching assistant (2004), assistant offensive line coach (2005), linebackers coach (2006-2010) and safeties coach (2011). He succeeds Jim Caldwell, who was fired after the Lions went 9-7 and missed the playoffs in 2017.

Patricia expressed his gratitude to the Lions for the opportunity ahead of him and to the Patriots for the 14 seasons he spent in New England.

“I can’t express enough appreciation to the entire New England Patriots franchise, particularly (team owner) Robert and (team president) Jonathan Kraft and the entire family,” Patricia said in a statement. “I will truly cherish these last 14 years as a member of this incredible organization.

“I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to (Patriots head coach) Bill Belichick, who has been a remarkable mentor to me, not only as a football coach but also as a man and as a friend. I have learned immensely from his detailed leadership approach to the game, which has certainly shaped me into the football coach that I am today. Quite simply, I have been incredibly fortunate to work with, who I believe is the greatest coach in NFL history.”

Brady by the numbers: Even in defeat, Tom Brady had a hand in a number of records that were set in the team’s loss to the Eagles.

First and foremost, the Patriots’ 40-year-old quarterback eclipsed his own record of 466 yards passing in a Super Bowl set in the previous year’s win over the Falcons by throwing for 505. Not only was the 505 a Super Bowl record, it was an NFL postseason record, exceeding the 489 Bernie Kosar threw for in the Cleveland Browns’ 23-20 overtime win over the New York Jets in a divisional round game on Jan. 3, 1987.

In throwing for the 505, Brady became the first player in NFL history to surpass 10,000 passing yards in the postseason, upping his total to 10,226.

Among the other more prominent records set: Most combined total yards in a game in NFL history, the game’s 1,151 (Patriots 613; Eagles 538) topping the 1,133 the Los Angeles Rams and New York Yanks combined to produce in a 43-35 Rams win on Nov. 19, 1950.

The 33 points the Patriots put on the board also happen to be the most scored by a losing team in Super Bowl history.

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